How excited are West Virginia fans for tonight’s Fiesta Bowl? So much so that 7,500 tickets alloted to the school went unsold. But in a strange twist, a big-money donor who’s had recent issues with the Mountaineers donated over $1 million to the school to offset the cost of the unsold seats.

The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE reports that Ken Kendrick, part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks and WVU alum, gave the money to his alma mater over the weekend. The school had to purchase any unsold seats from their 17,500 ticket allotment, with those tix now donated to various charities.

But Kendrick’s generous offer hasn’t softened his sour stance against West Virginia. After the school let Rich Rodriguez leave for Michigan, Ken & other donors withdrew over $12 million in pledges to the school.

To alleviate such big-money concerns, WVU president Mike Garrison had a talk with Kendrick on New Year’s Eve, calling their chat a “very productive meeting.”

And Ken had no problem airing his grievances: “There are problems in the athletic department that need to be corrected, leadership problems. Now the ball’s in his court. I hope he’ll do something to correct what I think is a pretty severe problem with the university - incompetent leadership.”

If he wants that $12 million back, Garrison might sharpen his own axe & chop off some heads personally.